From packaging to home appliances and cars, Design for Recycling (DfR) helps plastic recycling

Mention design for recycling (DfR) or recyclable design (recyclable design), and people’s initial response is a series of design guidelines for packaging. In fact, this is indeed the case. The concept of Design for Recycling (DfR) has entered the public consciousness since the beginning of the 21st century and has been well practiced in the packaging field, such as the American Plastics Recyclers (APR) Design for Recycling (APR Design Guide) for Plastics Recyclability), the Plastics Recyclers Association of Europe (PRE)’s Design for Recycling Guidelines, and the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF)’s Golden Design rules, etc., are all Focusing on packaging, only a small amount revolves around the recycling of electronic and electrical appliances. This is because there is a huge demand for plastics in packaging, most of which are products with short life cycles and urgent need for recycling, and the existing recycling system is indeed recycling effectively.

In recent years, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been recognized as one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU and worldwide. According to the new World E-Waste Monitor, the world generated a record 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste in 2019, a 21% increase in just five years. Under the influence of the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive (ELV Directive), the process of mandating the use of recycled materials in the automotive industry is advancing rapidly. Therefore, recyclable design guidelines for automobiles, home appliances, electronic and electrical appliances, agriculture, construction, etc. need to be formulated urgently.

The Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) is an initiative under the European Circular Economy Plastics Strategy. Its main goal is to develop, update, and revise design guidelines, and update CEN and industry standards to increase the market or value of recycled materials. In the Design for Recycling Work Plan issued by the CPA, "priorities" were selected based on factors such as the volume of plastic products launched in the European market, actual and potential recycling volumes, and the actual situation and potential of downstream applications. Develop design guidelines for product categories. These products include a variety of products in agriculture, construction, automobiles, electronic appliances, and packaging industries. The plastic materials involved include: PET, HDPE , LDPE, PP, PS, EPS, ABS, PVC, etc. PRE also officially announced in May this year that after successfully implementing the recyclable design guidelines for the packaging industry, it plans to expand its scope to plastic parts for electrical, electronic and automotive use, focusing on PS, ABS, On polymers such as PP and PE.

In August 2023, the Plastics Recycling Branch of the China Synthetic Resin Association (CPRRA) successfully established the "General Requirements for Recyclable Design of Plastic Products" (2023-0901T-HG) industry standard. Due to the wide range of use of plastics and the diverse industries involved, including: packaging, agriculture, construction, automobiles, electronic appliances, etc., different industries have different requirements for the selection of plastic materials and the specific requirements for recyclable design; the association has successively deepened the packaging Conduct industry research in , home appliances, automobiles, daily necessities and other fields. After research, it is initially believed that the scope of application of the industry standard "General Requirements for Recyclable Design of Plastic Products" can cover plastic products in packaging, agriculture, construction, automobiles, electronic appliances, home appliances, daily necessities and other fields.

Judging from the characteristics of the recycling stream, the recycling stream represented by packaging, agricultural and construction plastic products has basically been classified according to different plastic materials before entering the recycling factory, such as PET, HDPE, PP, etc.; while electronics The recycling stream represented by electrical and automotive plastics reflects the characteristics of many types of polymers, usually mixed plastics go directly to the recycling plant, and the recycling plant then sorts the plastics of each material through the production process.

From the product itself, the design elements of plastic products in various fields are relatively similar, including: basic resin, auxiliary materials, additives, color, coating, plating, sealing system, labeling system, accessory system, etc.

The factors that affect recycling are slightly different in each field. For example, plastic products in the packaging industry often affect recycling due to barrier layers, additives, accessories containing metal and paper, and the use of inappropriate label adhesives. For automotive plastics, the selection and combination of materials, selection of auxiliary materials, selection of connection methods, coating, etc. will have an impact on recycling.